Tools and equipment on a work site often become contaminated or dirty with particulate matter and can no longer be used for their intended purpose. In these situations, the worker must clean their tools and equipment so they can be reused. To clean their tools which requires the worker to take the tools off site to clean them. This is an inconvenience and consequently there is a reduced amount of time spent working.
If the tools and equipment are cleaned on-site, the consequent waste must be picked up and disposed of. If tools and equipment are cleaned using water from a tap or hose, the surrounding area becomes contaminated with waste. A further level of complexity is introduced where the resulting waste is toxic or environmentally harmful.
There are specific sinks designed to capture particulate waste such as the sink assembly described in Australian innovation patent AU2014100713. In this patent specification there is disclosed a sink that traps the particulate matter for proper disposal at a later time. The described sink is part of a working bench with plumbed connections to mains water and storm water drains.
The disadvantage associated with the described sink assembly is that it is not easily accessible or convenient for those workers working outdoors or away from convenient sink type facilities.